Better plywood at the BORG

[chopnhack]

I would have posted this in coffee pot, but I thought that it might influence some dicussion prior to someone's next project and perhaps save them some money if they saw it fit.

I was in the BORG a couple of nights ago and noticed they had a new supplier of birch,oak and sandply plywood! Talk about exciting! Gone are the crappy looking ~7 ply, overlapping, pink glue squeeing out plywood. In its place was some nice 5 ply! Obviously, no overlapping plies and no evidence of that cheap pink glue. The boards I did see had a fair grain on them, the birch I saw did have some filled areas though. A sheet was $49.99 on the birch. I don't have any experience with the product or any affiliations, just excited to see something new to replace that crap from before. The new stuff was marked as being made in Ecuador. If anyone has any experience with the new plywood, please post.
Thanks

[jackellis]

I have to get some stove bolts in the morning and will see if we have it in Northern California.

FWIW I really like the Chilean plywood that's sold at Lowes under the brand name Arauco. I've used it for shop cabinets and fixtures. Relatively inexpensive, nice-looking edge. My only complaint is that it appears to fuzz on the edges when routed, at least with a drawer lock bit.

[cabinetman]

There's got to be a half dozen or more HD's and Lowes with 10 miles from me and their stock varies from store to store. That really doesn't make much sense. One of their distribution centers is also within that radii, and if you think their store is big, you should see this place.

Anyway, I try not to buy decorative ply at the box stores unless I have to, but next time I'm in there, I'll check it out. It would be nice if they gave us a choice...two stacks...one says good...the other says bad.
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[radhak]

That reminds me - two weeks ago I saw maple ply at my local HD, at $69. Costlier than the others, but at least available! I'll check next time if the other ply has improved in quality too.

[SARGE..g-47]

I can't comment on the ply if it was made in Ecuador Chopnhack but... I can comment on my local HD who now has some Columbia in stock. But.. the ply is not made in Columbia. Columbia is Columbia Wood Products which is the same domestic ply my hard-wood suppler sells.

Columbia is made in both the U.S.A or Canada as they have facilities in both countries. Columbia is garaunteed formaldehyde free and is Green meaning no toxics. I use little ply other than chest back dust shields.. drawer bottoms and shop fixtures. I purchase at my hardwood supplier as all their ply is clearly marked Domestic (Columbia in their case) or Import for the few cabinet shops that will use it.

Now.. with that said, I cannont say that the ply I saw recently at HD that was made by Columibia is the same grade as the Columbia I purchase at Suwanee Lumber. Columbia could have struck a deal with HD to supply them with a better grade than they carried but a lower grade than I am generally accustomed to under the name Columbia?

But.. the Columiba I did see at HD is a much better grade by far than the Import junk they have carried for the last several years. So... more power to those that purchase their ply at HD. I will continue to purchase at my locak supplier because I know what grade Columbia they carry and simply they are cheaper for me as I get contractor price as I have been a frequent walk-in customer for over 30 years.

Good luck in your quest for better grade ply....

[jackellis]

I stopped by the East Palo Alto HD this morning and checked out their plywood choices. All of the recognizable hardwood ply is the same crap by the same manufacturer. Small voids and uneven plies.

They did have a product called Agathis ply that looked interesting - sort of a cherry veneer with even plies and no voids that I could see. Cheaper than the hardwood stuff. Apparently Agathis is a "hard" softwood that grows in the southwestern pacific. Takes paint well.

[steve-norrell]

I did a small report on Agathis some time ago, but I can't find the thread. I used it for building cabinets that were painted on the outside and finished with urethane on the inside. I found the plywood to be better that HD's usual stuff, but certainly not up to Baltic Birch standards and it did have some voids, although not large ones. It finishes well with paint and has a nice clear grain when finished with polyurethane. Agathis comes from New Zealand.

Here are some pictures. Regards, Steve